Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 3 Days

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The house is clean, the groceries are ordered and the cookies are baked. There is not much left to do but wrap gifts. Block out some time in the evening tonight and tomorrow to get through the pile without going crazy. Recruit help when possible from your hubby and tiny humans...make it a family affair! Strategize your wrapping based on who you are seeing and when you are seeing them. Have a Christmas Eve exchange? Start there...end (or don't bother) with the gifts you are mailing or exchanging after the New Year.

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 4 Days

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We're in the home stretch...hopefully the house is cheery and bright, free of dust and smells of delicious cookies (that are hidden out of the reach of rumbling bellies).

Today is all about you. T-Minus 4 Days is the midpoint in the one week countdown. Take a break and treat yo'self.

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 5 Days

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Hopefully by now your T Minus 7 Days and T Minus 6 Days Checklists are all checked off, the side dishes are prepped and a batch of cookies is put away.

Luckily for both of us, the Monday is pretty easy. It's just time to decorate. Stop, I know what you're thinking. "Decorating for Christmas takes days, weeks." Well, this isn't Christmas. The motto of the Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Decor is "If you don't have it, don't go buy it". This saves money, time and ultimately the headache of trying to head to the store the week of a holiday. So work within your attic, storage closet or your backyard! Head over to my Christmas Pinterest board for inspiration, but here are some of my favorites. Customize them to what you have packed away.

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 6 Days

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The key to a smooth and easy Chaos-Free Christmas is leveraging your free time this throughout the week and weekend for prep. Use lunch breaks to run last minute errands when the stores are less crowded. Recipe prep in the evening while dinner is cooking and the kitchen is already messy.  It seems early to start cooking, but that's what your freezer is for! Focus on prepping and freezing the dishes that can stand the cold to minimize your cooking on Christmas morning. Watch the daily guide for thawing instructions later in the week!

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown: 7 Days

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Happy Monday...just one week until Santa unloads his sleigh in your living room and family bursts through the front door! Are you ready? Fear not, I have the ultimate Chaos-Free Christmas guide. Watch for daily guides and to-do lists for the perfect Christmas day, starting with tomorrow (Tuesday).

The week leading up to Christmas usually looks like the whole year took a big poo on the page of my planner and left a years worth of plans crammed into a week. As everyone prepares for a week off of work or home with their tiny humans, deadlines at work are inevitable, half-days at school for the tiny humans make the schedule more difficult, and surprise drop-ins from friends and family have us turning off the lights and locking the doors. Follow my Chaos-Free Christmas Manual for a smooth holiday spent outside the kitchen and tucked into bed before the crack of dawn every morning.

Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Thanksgiving Day

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Happy Thanksgiving! Time to sit back, relax and let your appliances take care of dinner for you. The marathon is over, the finish line is in sight and all that is left is pouring some cocktails, sipping a glass of wine and chatting with your favorite relatives. Put on your stretchy pants and get your crock pot going. Its game day!

Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Wednesday

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Hooray! You've almost made it! One more day until Thanksgiving. The finish line is officially in sight. The Wednesday to-do list is short and sweet, intended to keep the kitchen clean and the dishwasher empty. Consider grabbing a pizza for dinner or using paper plates for dinner tonight. Take it easy! This is the end of the Thanksgiving marathon.

Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Tuesday

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The Tuesday to-do list is all about getting ahead of the food prep. All of the grocery shopping should be done, the house should be spruced up and decorated. The only things left are the meal and setting the table. Over the weekend we prepped all of the freezer friendly dishes. Tuesday is for prepping the pies and baked goods that will keep until Thursday and starting the great thaw.

Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Decor

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I'm a little late on Monday, but I fell victim to a cold over the weekend so instead of writing, I slept. Hopefully by now your weekend to-do list is all checked off, the side dishes are prepped and the end tables are dusted.

Luckily for both of us, the Monday is pretty easy. It's just time to decorate. Stop, I know what you're thinking. "Decorating for Christmas takes days, weeks." Well, this isn't Christmas. The motto of the Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Decor is "If you don't have it, don't go buy it". This saves money, time and ultimately the headache of trying to head to the store the week of a holiday. So work within your attic, storage closet or your backyard! Head over to my Thanksgiving Pinterest board for inspiration, but here are some of my favorites. Customize them to what you have packed away.

Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Weekend

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The key to a successful Make-Ahead Thanksgiving is leveraging your free time this weekend for prep. Don't worry, this weekend is for more than Thanksgiving. The recipe prep on this weekends to-do list should only take about 2 hours! It seems early to start cooking for Thursday, but that's what your freezer is for! Focus on prepping and freezing the dishes that can stand the cold to minimize your cooking on feast day. Watch the daily guide for thawing instructions later in the week!

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This recipe is part of my Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide. Find it on the Weekend to-do list. For daily to-do lists leading up to turkey day, follow on my blog or sign up for emails. New to-do lists everyday at noon through Thanksgiving!

Creamy Dairy Free Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time 1 hour 20 min, serves 6.

Ingredients

• ~3 lbs. Butternut Squash
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil, plus more for squash
• 1 Small Onion, Chopped
• 5 Cups Vegan "No Chicken" Chicken Flavored Stock 
• 1 Dash Nutmeg
• 2 Tsp. Garlic, Minced
• 1 Tsp. Thyme
• Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
• Fresh Pepper
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Original Almond Milk, on soup day

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This recipe is part of my Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide. Find it on the Weekend to-do list. For daily to-do lists leading up to turkey day, follow on my blog or sign up for emails. New to-do lists everyday at noon through Thanksgiving!

Freezer-Friendly Pigs in a Blanket

Prep Time 15 min, serves 12.

Ingredients

• 1 package Cocktail Wieners 
• 1 tube Crescent Rolls

Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Friday

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Happy Thursday...T-Minus one week until turkey day touches down! Are you ready? Fear not, I have the ultimate Thanksgiving guide. Watch for daily guides and to-do lists for the perfect turkey day, starting with tomorrow (Friday).

The week leading up to Thanksgiving can be plagued with deadlines at work, half-days at school for the tiny humans, and reunions with friends and family, home from afar. Follow my Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide for a smooth holiday spent outside the kitchen and with your guests.

Homemade Pressure Cooker Cranberry Sauce

This past weekend I volunteered to bring the cranberry sauce to our family Thanksgiving. I am all too familiar with the bland, overly-sweet cranberry log. Fresh cranberries run $1-$2 a bag, and for a group of 30, I could make a double batch of my homemade sauce for $4 (since I already had sugar at home). Packed with flavor from the fresh berries, my homemade pressure cooker cranberry sauce was a hit. Ready in under 10 minutes, it's a great go-to for holidays and easy to customize.